6.  The applicant was born in Turkey in 1955 and lives in Vienna. He moved to Austria in 1989 and has been living and working there ever since.
7.  On 17 June 2002 he filed a claim for family allowance backdating to 1 June 1997 for his two children who had been resident in Turkey on a permanent basis. His daughter was born in 1978 and at the time of his claim in 2002 she had already finished her studies and taken up a job as a teacher. His son was born in 1980 and had been a student since 2000. Pursuant to a bilateral agreement, the applicant had been receiving a reduced family allowance until 1996.
8.  On 17 February 2003 the Vienna Tax Office dismissed the applicant’s claim because the children were not resident in Austria, which was one of the main conditions for entitlement to such an allowance.
9.  On 8 April 2003 the applicant lodged an appeal, referring to case-law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). He argued that the decision taken against him contravened European Union (EU) legislation; however, he did not make a request for a referral to the ECJ for a preliminary ruling under Article 267 (ex 234) of the EU Treaty.
10.  On 24 May 2004 the Independent Financial Panel (Unabhängiger Finanz­senat – “the IFP”) dismissed the applicant’s appeal. It held that since Austria had on 30 September 2006 terminated the Social Security Agreement of 12 March 1985 between itself and Turkey (Abkommen zwischen der Republik Österreich und der Türkischen Republik über Soziale Sicherheit) and his children were not resident in Austria, he was no longer entitled to any family allowance. It further found that the applicant did not claim to have ever taken any steps to move his family to Austria.
11.  On 23 September 2004 the applicant made a claim for legal aid and lodged a complaint with the Constitutional Court, alleging a violation of Article 6 of the Convention on the basis that his case had not been referred to the ECJ for a preliminary ruling, although it appears that no such request had ever been made by him. He also alleged breaches of Article 8, 13 and 14 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1.
12.  On 30 November 2004 the Constitutional Court dismissed the applicant’s claim for legal aid because he had already been denied eligibility on 13 July 2004. It further declined to deal with the applicant’s complaint finding that it had no prospects of success, and, upon the applicant’s request, remitted the case to the Administrative Court. In particular it held that the IFP was not a domestic authority obliged to refer cases to the ECJ for a preliminary ruling and that the provisions in question neither contravened the Austrian Constitution nor EU legislation since his children lived in Turkey, which was not a member State of the European Union.
13.  In another set of proceedings the IFP on 22 March 2004 dismissed the applicant’s appeal concerning the alleged failure to pay him tax credits for maintenance payments for the years 1999, 2000 and 2001. It held that generally such payments were not possible under Austrian law if the children were over the age of majority and were not in receipt of family allowance.
14.  On an unspecified date the applicant lodged a second complaint with the Constitutional Court against this decision and made a further claim for legal aid.
15.  On 4 October 2004 the Constitutional Court declined to deal with the applicant’s second complaint, finding that it had no prospect of success. It again refused to grant him legal aid.
16.  The applicant requested that the case be remitted to the Administrative Court. The Constitutional Court agreed to do so and thereupon the Administrative Court joined both sets of proceedings.
17.  On 10 August 2005 the Administrative Court, referring to both its own and the Constitutional Court’s case-law, dismissed both complaints. It found that the legislation that had been in force since 1 January 2001, which prevented persons from receiving family allowances for children over the age of majority living abroad, was lawful. It referred to the constitutional provision that prevented the payment of tax credits for maintenance payments in respect of children for whom no family allowance could be received. It further held that since the provisions concerning family allowance were equally applicable to Austrian nationals and foreigners there was no discrimination. Lastly, it found that there was no legal basis on which to refer the case to the ECJ for a preliminary ruling without giving detailed reasons for such a request. Since there was no appearance of a violation of a right of the applicant, no oral hearing was necessary. That decision was served on the applicant’s counsel on 2 September 2005.